Annual Reports

NerdWallet, Inc.'s annual reports contain management's most considered account of the business. These are the sections, passages and visual pages worth opening in the originals preserved in Sources.

NerdWallet, Inc. — FY2025 Annual Report (Form 10-K) — FY2025 (year ended December 31, 2025)

Latest 10-K, and the first to describe the business as a marketplace plus regulated subsidiaries; revenue $836.6M (+22%), net income $48.7M. · Open the full document →

Item 1. Business — p. 10 · Read the full section →

Rewritten this year: an editorial-and-marketplace platform that now also runs licensed brokering and advisory subsidiaries.

What the company is, how it is paid, and the two headline results for 2025.

NerdWallet, Inc. (NerdWallet, the Company, we, our, or us) provides consumers and small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) with trusted guidance across a broad range of finance topics through a digital platform that integrates independent editorial content, comparison tools, data-driven product marketplaces, and access to regulated financial services offered through our subsidiaries. […] We generate revenue primarily through referral fees, lead generation, and partner-based monetization, as well as through revenue derived from brokering and advisory services. Our business model is designed to be partner-neutral and to support transparent consumer and SMB choice by offering side-by-side comparisons and insightful information supported by editorial standards. […] Our revenue was $836.6 million and $687.6 million for 2025 and 2024, respectively, representing year-over-year growth of 22%. We generated net income of $48.7 million and $30.4 million for 2025 and 2024, respectively, representing year-over-year growth of 60%.

p. 10 · Read in context →

The regulated subsidiaries that now sit beside the marketplace: a mortgage broker and an SEC-registered adviser.

We conduct mortgage brokering activities through NDL, a wholly-owned subsidiary licensed under applicable state laws. NDL provides consumer introductions, matching, and application routing to third-party mortgage lenders and supports certain intake and disclosure facilitation activities. NDL does not service mortgage loans or hold mortgage loans for more than 30 days. […] We provide traditional wealth management services through NerdWallet Wealth Partners, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser that offers financial planning, discretionary investment management, and related advisory services.

p. 14 · Read in context →

Item 1A. Risk Factors — We are dependent on internet search engines, particularly Google, to direct traffic to our websites and refer new users to our platform — p. 25 · Read the full section →

The structural risk for this business, and the only one the 2025 MD&A actually blames for a revenue decline.

Google algorithm changes have already cut traffic; AI-assisted search is named as the next threat.

Our reliance on internet search engines, particularly Google, for directing traffic to our platform, poses risks. Search engines, like Google, may modify algorithms or policies without prior notice, potentially resulting in significant declines in our organic search ranking and decreased platform traffic. Past changes have caused declines in traffic and user growth, with anticipated fluctuations in the future. The introduction and acceptance of AI-assisted technologies could further impact search engine relevance, causing declines in our ranking and decreased platform traffic, affecting our financial results.

p. 25 · Read in context →

The same risk, priced: MD&A attributes the credit cards and SMB declines to organic search pressure.

Credit cards revenue decreased $43.0 million, or 24%, for 2025 compared to 2024, primarily due to continued pressures in organic search traffic. […] SMB products revenue decreased $9.8 million, or 9%, for 2025 compared to 2024, primarily due to continued pressures in organic search traffic, partially offset by an increase in business loan originations.

p. 73 · Read in context →

Item 1A. Risk Factors — Our expansion into mortgage brokering presents additional risks — p. 28 · Read the full section →

NerdWallet now brokers mortgages and also runs a mortgage comparison marketplace; management concedes the conflict that creates.

Running a broker alongside the comparison marketplace creates conflicts management says it must manage.

Our acquisition of NDL in October 2024 and our expansion into mortgage brokerage services introduce additional risks. We must comply with complex federal and state regulations governing mortgage brokerage operations, including licensing requirements for both the entity and individuals in the states where NDL operates. […] Additionally, operating a direct mortgage brokerage alongside our existing mortgage marketplace comparison platform creates potential conflicts of interest that must be carefully managed to maintain transparency and trust with consumers and lending partners. Mortgage brokerage operations are highly sensitive to interest rate fluctuations, housing market conditions, and changes in wholesale lender policies, all of which could impact loan approvals, funding availability, and revenue generation.

p. 28 · Read in context →

Item 1A. Risk Factors — Macroeconomic developments such as inflationary conditions in the U.S. have caused macroeconomic uncertainty and may have an adverse impact on our business, results of operations and our vertical diversification strategy — p. 34 · Read the full section →

The clearest statement of the diversification thesis the whole model rests on — and of management's doubt that it keeps working.

Verticals are meant to offset each other; management declines to guarantee it, and names 2025's weak ones.

We began our business with our credit card vertical and have since grown our business to include additional verticals: mortgages, insurance, SMB products, consumer loans and debt solutions, banking, and investing. We believe that our vertical diversification strategy has allowed us to navigate different kinds of macroeconomic conditions; in the recent past underperformance in one vertical has been offset by overperformance in another. […] We cannot, however, guarantee that this offsetting between our verticals will continue or that our business model will be able to withstand the various macroeconomic developments we may see in the future. During 2025, we saw that uncertainty with the interest rate environment put pressure on our consumer loans, SMB products, and mortgage verticals.

p. 34 · Read in context →

Item 1A. Risk Factors — The dual class structure of our common stock has the effect of concentrating voting control with our Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our Board of Directors, Tim Chen — p. 49 · Read the full section →

One holder controls 89% of the vote, which is why NerdWallet is a Nasdaq controlled company with no independent nominating function.

Ten-to-one voting; the CEO and his trusts held ~89% of voting power at year-end 2025.

Our Class B common stock has ten votes per share and our Class A common stock has one vote per share. Tim Chen, our Cofounder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of our Board of Directors and his affiliated trusts hold all outstanding shares of Class B common stock, which as of December 31, 2025 constituted approximately 89% of the voting power of our outstanding capital stock. […] This concentrated control will limit or preclude your ability to influence corporate governance matters, transactions and all matters submitted to a vote of our stockholders, for the foreseeable future.

p. 49 · Read in context →

Item 7. MD&A — Key Components of Our Results of Operations: Revenue — p. 69 · Read the full section →

The unit of revenue, spelled out: partners pay per action, click, lead or funded loan, booked when the match happens.

Four pricing models, revenue at the moment of match, and the five reporting categories.

We generate substantially all of our revenue through fees paid by our financial services partners in the form of either revenue per action, revenue per click, revenue per lead, and revenue per funded loan arrangements. For these revenue arrangements, in which a partner pays only when a consumer or SMB satisfies the criteria set forth within the arrangement, revenue is recognized generally when we match the consumer or SMB with the financial services partner. […] Our revenue generally includes five product categories: Insurance, Credit cards, SMB products, Loans and Emerging verticals. Insurance revenue includes revenue from consumer insurance products, including auto, life and pet insurance.

p. 69 · Read in context →

Item 7. MD&A — Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2025 and 2024 — p. 73 · Read the full section →

Where the year is decided: insurance carries the growth, and performance marketing consumes half of every revenue dollar.

Note 1. The Company and its Significant Accounting Policies — Revenue Recognition — p. 99 · Read the full section →

The policy that defines the model: revenue is booked on the match, before the partner approves, at a constrained estimate.

Note 2. Revenue — p. 104 · Read the full section →

The three-year disaggregation is the closest thing to segment data here, and it shows how fast the mix has moved.

NerdWallet, Inc. — FY2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K) — FY2024 (year ended December 31, 2024)

The pivot edition: Insurance is broken out as its own product category for the first time and the NDL mortgage brokerage is acquired. · Open the full document →

Item 1. Business — Recent Acquisition — p. 11 · Read the full section →

The deal that turned NerdWallet from a mortgage referrer into a licensed mortgage broker, described the year it happened.

Next Door Lending, acquired October 2024, licensed in 25 states at year-end.

In October 2024, we expanded our presence in the mortgage space with the acquisition of Next Door Lending LLC (NDL), a mortgage brokerage specializing in home purchase and refinancing solutions. […] Through NDL, we connect consumers with wholesale mortgage lenders, providing competitive rates and flexible terms. As of December 31, 2024, NDL is licensed to operate in 25 states, further strengthening our ability to serve homebuyers and homeowners nationwide.

p. 11 · Read in context →

More annual reports

NerdWallet, Inc. — FY2023 Annual Report (Form 10-K) — FY2023 (year ended December 31, 2023) · 145 pages · The last year before the insurance surge and the only net-loss year in the set; revenue $599.4M, net loss $11.8M. · Open →

NerdWallet, Inc. — FY2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K) — FY2022 (year ended December 31, 2022) · 146 pages · Peak credit cards: $210.3M of $538.9M revenue, before the category began its multi-year decline. · Open →

NerdWallet, Inc. — FY2021 Annual Report (Form 10-K) — FY2021 (year ended December 31, 2021) · 155 pages · First 10-K after the November 2021 IPO, with revenue reported in just three categories. · Open →